Baroness Philippine de Rothschild Passing of a Legend

 

It is with some sadness that I read of the passing of Philippine de Rothschild a while back.  Not a name you recognize?  Baroness Rothschild was one of the grande dames of Bordeaux wines.  Since 1988, she was chairwoman of Chateau Mouton Rothschild.  Want to sample one of her wines?  Better be prepared to pony up big time.  In BC, a bottle runs from $1200 to $1800 for recent vintages.  Forget about sampling older ones.

 baroness-philippine-mathilde-camille-de-rothschild-7

 

While women have been making inroads in the world of winemaking, it is a relatively recent phenomena.  Yes, it is true that there were the early pioneers, such as Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who ran some of the Champagne houses as early as the 1800’s, but they were the exception.

 

Reportedly, about ten percent of California winemakers are women, though slightly higher (12%) in Napa and Sonoma.  That figure will likely increase in the near future as almost half those enrolled in the UC Davis viniculture and enology program are females. Compare those figures to Rioja, Spain, where about one third of winemakers are women.

 

These low numbers are a shame though, because as a rule of thumb, women have a more acute sense of smell and taste.  Historically, they were the gatherers, picking, smelling and tasting to see if food was safe to eat.  Men were the hunters.

 

What’s the situation in BC?  Of the women, whose names follow, some are winery owners, co-owners, winemakers or assistant winemakers. The list is by no means complete.  Things can change quickly in the wine world and some of this information may not be current – my apologies for that.  In addition, I did not include those involved with making fruit and honey (mead) wines.

 

Trudy Heiss Gray Monk

Jennifer Molgat The View Winery

Ann Sperling Sperling Vineyards

Prudence Maher Ruby Tuesday

Judy Kingston Serendipity

Evelyn Campbell Blasted Church

Anna Manola Silver Sage

Sandra Oldfield Tinhorn Creek

Stephanie Leinemann Peller Estates

Karen Gillis Red Rooster

Sandy Leier Calona Wine

Brooke Blair Jackson-Triggs

Kathy Malone Hillside Estate

Trish Cooper Mission Hill

Severine Pinte Le Vieux Pin

Christine Leroux (various – consultant)

Nikki Callaway Quail’s Gate

Christine Coletta Haywire (Okanagan Crush Pad)

Shelly Covert Covert Farms

Sarah Cosman Unsworth Vineyards

Audralee Daum Black Cloud Winery

Alishan Driediger Little Farm Winery

Christina Ferreira Squeezed Wines

Kristy French The View Winery

Barbara Hall Chaberton Estate Winery

Marie Hebrard Hester Creek

Amber Jones C.C. Jentsch

Dr. Lorraine Kane River Stone Estate Winery

Jacqueline Kemp Moraine Estate Winery

Korol Kuklo Tinhorn Creek

Pam Luckhurst Road 13

Niva Martin La Frenz Winery

Alison Moyes Stoneboat

Mega Renae Mutch Cerelia Winery

Heidi Noble Joie Farm

Lyndsay O’Rourke Tightrope Winery

Linda Pruegger Stag’s Hollow

Julie Rennie Pentage Winery

Stella Schmidt Castoro de Oro

Kelly Symonds 3 Mile Estate Winery

Senka Tennant Lariana Cellars

Sue Thygesen Kraze Legz

Elaine Triggs Culmina Family Estate Winery

Stephanie Van Dyk Kalala Organic Winery

Kristine Witkowski Seven Directions Wine

Shauna White Road 13 Vineyards

Aura Rose House of Rose

 

 

From my inaccurate assessment, it looks like women make up close to 20% of BC’s winemakers.

 

 

I owe thanks to BC wine guru, John Schreiner (http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/) and Robert Bell of “Wines of Canada” for their lists of BC women in wine.

 

 

Leave a Comment

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial